Guide to the USS Monitor Design and Construction Collection, Catalog Number MS335 The Library at The Mariners' Museum Contact Information: The Library at The Mariners' Museum 100 Museum Drive Newport News, VA 23606 Phone: (757) 591­7782 Fax: (757) 591­7310 Email: [email protected] URL: www.mariner.org/library Processed by: Lisa Wilson, 2005 DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY Repository: The Library at The Mariners' Museum Title: USS Monitor Design and Construction Collection Catalog number: MS335 Accession number: A2004.15 Physical Characteristics: 100 items Language: English Creators: Cornelius S. Bushnell, C.H. Delamater, John A. Griswold, Thomas Harrison, Thomas F. Rowland, William Smith, John F. Winslow, and C.W Whitney. SCOPE AND CONTENT This collection consists of 100 items documenting the political machinations, financing, and construction of the United States Navy ironclad USS Monitor. The majority of the materials are receipts, correspondence, and telegrams addressed to John A. Griswold, from the varied companies and individuals contracted to design and construct the USS Monitor. Among the correspondents are Cornelius S. Bushnell, C.H. Delamater, Thomas F. Rowland, John F. Winslow, William Smith, Thomas Harrison, and C.W. Whitney. The major subcontractors were: Albany Iron Works, Clute Brothers Foundry, Continental Iron Works, Delamater Iron Works, H. Abbott and Sons, Holdane and Company, Niagara Steam Forge, Novelty Iron Works, and Rensselaer Iron Works. The papers were donated in 2004, “In recognition of the spirit and legacy of the Class of 1947, United States Military Academy.” ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Accession number A2004.15 Accession date 2004 Restrictions Collection is open to all researchers. Publication Rights Copies of any materials may not be reproduced, published, or distributed, in any form without written permission from The Mariners’ Museum. Preferred Citation USS Monitor Design and Construction Collection: MS335 The Library at The Mariners’ Museum, Newport News, Virginia “In recognition of the spirit and legacy of the Class of 1947, United States Military Academy.” Note to Users Due to the fragile and rare nature of the collection, researchers are requested to handle the materials with caution and in accordance with proscribed archival practices. When using these materials, please preserve the original order of the collection. BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL SKETCH Desperate to break the Federal blockade, Confederate engineers and workers labored throughout the summer of 1861 to convert the Federal frigate USS Merrimac into the ironclad CSS Virginia. Progress of the conversion was reported in Southern newspapers and picked up by the press in the North. As work progressed on the Virginia, it became evident to Secretary of the United States Navy Gideon Welles that if the conversion of the Merrimac were successful, no Federal ship could stop her. The need to offset this threat spurred the Navy Department to create an Ironclad Board. Consisting of navy officers, the Board was charged with seeking and evaluating plans for the construction of ironclad vessels for Federal service. On August 3, 1861, Secretary Welles published an announcement calling for the submission of designs and plans of ironclads to the Navy Ironclad Board. Many designs were presented to the board. This included a proposal by Cornelius Bushnell and Samuel Pook for an ironclad steamer that eventually became the USS Galena. In creating the plans for his steamer, Bushnell sought the advice of renowned engineer John Ericsson. Ericsson showed Bushnell his plans and model of an “impregnable iron battery” designed for Napoleon III of France in 1854. Bushnell was so impressed with Ericsson's radical designs that he presented them to Secretary Welles. Secretary Welles agreed that the design had "extraordinary and valuable features" and that it should be submitted to the Ironclad Board for consideration. Bushnell presented Ericsson's designs to the Board. However, Ericsson’s ironclad designs were rejected as too outlandish for consideration. Undaunted, Bushnell persuaded Ericsson to appear before the Board to defend the design. When the Ironclad Board submitted its final report to Secretary Welles, Ericsson's design was one of three recommended for approval. On October 4, 1861, the Department of the Navy signed a contract with John Ericsson, Cornelius Bushnell, John F. Winslow, and John A. Griswold for the construction of an “iron clad battery”. The contract stipulated that total compensation for the ship would be $275,000 spread over equal payments of $50,000 each based on progress of construction of the ship. From each payment, the Navy Department would retain 25% until the Monitor was proven to be successful in every way or payment would be withheld. According to the contract, construction of the “battery” must be completed within 100 days. To meet the deadline set by the government, Ericsson subcontracted the construction and fabrication of his ironclad to eight foundries. In a particularly ambitious plan, each subcontractor supplied various components of the ship at separate locations, shipping the completed parts to a central location for assembly. John A. Griswold, principal partner in Rensselaer Iron Works and owner of Bessemer steel patents, was selected to oversee the financial management of the project. His associates, John F. Winslow, co­owner of Albany Iron Works, oversaw the procurement of the necessary iron and armor plate for the “Battery” and Thomas Rowland, of the Continental Iron Works at Green Point, New York, was contracted for the final construction of the Monitor. Delamater Iron Works of New York City constructed the engines and boilers, Novelty Iron Works of New York City rolled the iron plates for the turret and oversaw its assembly, and Clute Brothers and Company of Schenectady produced the donkey engine to power the turret. Holdane and Company of New York City, Albany Iron Works of Troy, and H. Abbot and Son of Baltimore rolled additional iron plate for the turret, as well as bars and rivets. The Niagara Steam Forge of Buffalo, New York, furnished two iron port stoppers. As these parts were produced, they were shipped to Continental Iron Works in Green Point, New York, where the hull was laid and the final assembly was performed. The assembly of the Monitor was in itself an amazing engineering feat. Eight foundries, working independently and perhaps with no clear idea of what the final product would look like, successfully produced Ericsson’s Iron Clad Battery. When the ship was launched on January 30, 1861, Ericsson and his associates had missed his one hundred­ day deadline by 18 days, but no one seemed to notice. The United States Navy had its Monitor to check the South's Virginia. SERIES DESCRIPTION The papers are in a single series of correspondence. The material is arranged in ascending chronological order. Series I: Correspondence, 1861­1890. Arranged chronologically, this series is comprised of letters and telegrams from 1861 and 1862 between the individuals and companies involved in the design and construction of the USS Monitor and the USS Galena. Many of the letters include information on the businesses involved in constructing and providing parts and services for the Monitor during the U.S. Civil War. Also included in the collection is the original envelope that housed the collection since 1890. FOLDER LISTING BOX 1: CORRESOPNDENCE Folder 1 Finding Aid Folder 2 Background Information Folder 3 Correspondence, August 1861 August 26, 1861: New Haven, CT. One­page letter from Cornelius S. Bushnell to John Winslow and John Griswold. Bushnell mentions a ship’s drawing (Galena) submitted for Winslow’s and Griswold’s improvement and states that they should go to Washington as soon as possible. In the letter, Bushnell states that he has responded to Commodore Smith and that they were prepared to make a strong argument for their case to the Ironclad Board. [MS335.01.03.01] August 27, 1861: New York Telegram from Cornelius S. Bushnell to John Winslow. Bushnell states that the drawing of the Galena is on the 7AM train from New York by carrier. [MS335.01.03.02] August 28, 1861: New Haven, CT. Telegram, Cornelius S. Bushnell to John Winslow. Bushnell invites Winslow to travel with him on Tuesday evening to Washington, D.C. He states that there is no use in going sooner. [MS335.01.03.03] Folder 4 Correspondence, September 1861 September 21, 1861: New York Telegram, John A. Griswold to John F. Winslow. Griswold asks to meet with Winslow for the trip to Washington, D.C., the next night. [MS335.01.04.01] September 30, 1861: New Haven, CT. One­page letter, Cornelius S. Bushnell to John F. Winslow. Bushnell informs Winslow that Samuel Pook will send a model of the Galena and that Bushnell will meet with him unless he can come down to meet with John Ericsson. [MS335.01.04.02] Folder 5 Correspondence, October 1861 October 2, 1861: Rensselaer Iron Works, Troy, New York One­page letter, John A. Griswold to John F. Winslow. Griswold writes that he can devote a mill; have the mill running within 20 days, with the addition of a furnace; and that he will make a sketch to share with Winslow. [MS335.01.05.01] October 9, 1861: New Haven, Connecticut Telegram, Cornelius S. Bushnell to John Griswold and John Winslow. Bushnell indicates that he and Samuel Pook will be at John Ericsson’s house tomorrow and asks whether they can attend. [MS335.01.05.02] Folder 6 Correspondence, October 1861 October 19, 1861: Green Point, New York One­page letter, Thomas F. Rowland to John A. Griswold. Receipt for $1,000 as first payment on the account “for constructing the Ericsson Battery.” Rowland states that the money will be paid for labor, “thus giving it a good circulation.” [MS335.01.06.01] October 19, 1861: Delamater Iron Works, New York. One­page letter, C. H. Delamater to John A.